Syracuse, N.Y. — The Syracuse Orange basketball team is three games into the season and certain trends are starting to form.

But it's easy to get sucked into thinking the statistics from three relatively easy victories are truly meaningful. You have to separate fact from fiction.

Here are five things to keep an eye on as Syracuse (3-0) gets ready to face St. Francis, N.Y., (2-1) on Monday night at the Carrier Dome.

C.J. Fair's shot attempts and efficiency

Although he led Syracuse in scoring last season, C.J. Fair was stepping into a larger role as the Orange's primary scoring option this year. Michael Carter-Williams and Brandon Triche were gone. Fair would get the ball far more often.

But how would that extra offensive load impact Fair's legendary efficiency?

Through three games, it hasn't hurt Fair at all.

Last year, Fair averaged 11.5 shots per game and he made 47 percent from the field.

In SU's first three games this season, Fair is averaging 15.0 shots per game. And his field-goal percentage is at 53.3. He's taken 17 shots in two of SU's games. He surpassed that number in just three games all of last year. He was 9-for-17 from the floor (2-for-6 from 3-point range) in Saturday's win over Colgate.

Syracuse's pressure defense

In its first three games, Syracuse has forced the opposition into 19 turnovers per game. The Orange turned Colgate over 21 times on Saturday.

St. Francis comes into Monday's game with a 2-1 record, but the Terriers have ball-control issues. St. Francis is committing 18.3 turnovers per game. That's not good for a team that prefers low-scoring games. St. Francis is averaging just 61 points per game.

If St. Francis tries to slow the pace against Syracuse, watch for the Orange to go to its full-court press to speed up the game and create some turnovers.

Attacking the St. Francis defense

Syracuse is shooting just 31.3 percent from 3-point range this season. The Orange went 7-for-24 (29 percent) against Colgate.

That doesn't bode well for tonight's game with St. Francis.

In its first three games St. Francis has held its opponents (Miami, Florida Atlantic and Dayton) to 5-of-31 shooting from beyond the 3-point arc — 16.1 percent. Miami went 0-for-15 outside the line against the Terriers.

Syracuse is going to have make a few outside shots if it wants to avoid the upset.

Did Syracuse's centers have a bad game?

Syracuse doesn't need a lot of offense from Rakeem Christmas if he's playing defense like this. Dennis Nett | dnett@syracuse.com

Syracuse's center trio of Dajuan Coleman, Rakeem Christmas and Baye Moussa Keita combined for just six points against Colgate.

Bad game, right? Well, not entirely.

The three centers also combined for 18 rebounds. That's right on their season average of 17.6 rebounds per game for the group.

The centers had 10 total offensive rebounds, which would usually lead to put-back baskets, but they seemed more intent on kicking the ball back outside. More offensive production would come if the big men went back up with their offensive boards.

But the 18 rebounds still make Saturday's effort a good one because that's what the Orange really needs from its big men.

Fifteen Feet for Free

That's the title of a book written by former Syracuse player Jim Lee, who remains one of the best free-throw shooters in school history.

So far this season, the Syracuse players aren't taking advantage of the freebies.

The Orange made just 12 out of 28 free throws against Colgate. The numbers wouldn't be that disturbing if the misses were coming from Dajuan Coleman or Rakeem Christmas because the big men are less likely to have the ball in a late-game situation. But Christmas, Coleman and Keita took just three free-throws against Colgate. (Yes, Coleman went 0-for-3.)

Most of the misses against Colgate came from Michael Gbinije (5-for-12) and Jerami Grant (2-for-6). Those two players are strong penetrators and will lose their effectiveness if they're not able to convert on free throws.